If you want to ensure you have adequate passwords but don't have the time or interest to study the topic, there's a useful basic article on how to devise strong passwords over at the NY Times. It summarizes key points in 9 simple rules of thumb. Also see the follow-up article for useful reader feedback. Stay safe!

- http://openid.net/ and http://oauth.net/ Some examples: Google-, Yahoo-, Hotmail-account, Twitter- and yes even Facebook connect is based on oAuth. At least Google and probably others also have 2 factor authentication.